The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1887-09-29
ALL ABOUT BUSTLEs.
n Subject of Great Interest to Mon, Women
and Childrcn.-And Especially to Freight
Agents.
(From the New YORK Times)

and Childron--And Especially to Frcigh
Agents.
s From the New YORK Times)
= A very interesting controversy ha
I been agitating the minds and hearts O
| the freight agents of transcontinenta
= railroads, the pool commissioners, th
l Interstate commerce commissioners
8 and California dry goods merchants sine,
[ early in February.
+ And it is all about bustles. Although
} this article has long occupied place O
/ dignity and prominence in the wardrob,
OF the properly appareled woman, ant
has formed an important item in tn,
business of merchants, manufacturers
cartoonists and common carriers, it hat
not, until tho July revision, occupied
place on tho freight tariff. Then I'm
, cias", led dry goods paid So per bunAre6
troJghtago TO San Francisco, whilo hoop
skirts, under tho classification of wire
goods, were assessed only $l.5O per hun
drcd. 1t was consequently the custom
of merchants to ship bustles as "wirf
goods" or "hoopshirts" indif1crently, sc
describing them in the bills of lading and
paying the lower rate of charges. Thou.
sands Of cases had thus been shipped
and passed by the freight agents without
question, and tho goods had been sold
and gone into circulation, when an un-
lucky manufacturer, in February last,
sent to Stiefel, Sachs & Co., of San
francisco, case Of these goods doscrib-
ed IN the bills of lading as "bustlcs. -
The gulloless California freight agent,
knowing little and protesting to know
nothing of this mysterious dIstcnder of
my lady's dress and supporter of her
skirts and hoops, looked in vain for the
rate on bustles in the tariff catalogue.
G", tfh2o55efSGre f2o5 Sre charged tho rate on un-
c1aSsined dry 8ooaS OF $a ":.1 ,r---iri-
tated the contest by sending in his bill.
The merchants protested against the
payment, end the matter was referred to
the general traffic managers of the roads
in New York.
Somo of these wero married men who
profcssed to know something about bus
| ties, for all Of their wives were supposed
! to wear them. An elderly gentleman
from among the bencdicts was indignant
over what he termed the Glow subter-
fugc" Of CHASING bustlcs as hoopskirts
or wire goods when thero wasn't Il bit Of
wire uOr a hoop Of any kind about them.
Hc ought to know, for his wife had worn
q bustle for years. The article WAS made
of feathers and cloth; two long marrow
bags just wide enough to-to-wcll, to
escape being sat on, were sewcd tOgcth-
er, the larger one below, and fastened
on with strings. Some of the younger
men seemed amused Mt Lis description,
and one inquired if old newspapers wore
ever employed for stu11ing Instead of
feathers. y wise looking man, Of ma
ture years and large family of girls,
said he had it on tho best OF authority
! that the peWspapgr lbnstlo existed only
1 &. . NJ NlT#. y
A well constructed hustle was filled with
curled hair and still better quality
with wool. In former years he had
purchased such articles himself and he
felt that ho was an authority upon the
subject.
The preponderance of testimony, al
though it did not agree as to details,
was clearly SO far against "wire goods
and "hoopSkirts," and the traffic mana
gers seemed about to sustain the charge
Of three dollars per hundred, as I'M
classified dry goods, when young mar
/ ried man with scab on his nose, who
had listened thus fnr without speaking,
said he thought there must be something
in the wire theory Of construction. He
had gone home little late the week be-
| fore little the worse for wear, and was
making n manly effort to get to bed
without disturbing his silent partner,
when his foot caught in something that
felt like bird cage about his ankle and
he pitched forward until he reached the
mantel, which he found with his nose.
| He uttered an exclamation which trans
formed his silent partner into one of the
most active kind of partners, and com
! PEELED an explanation. y light being
! produced the wreck Of the object that
! had 81 Ia
| for imprecation and analysis. 1t was his
! first offence, and his wife therefore al
| lowed her concern over his mishap to
dominate hor indignation over the con-
! dition in which he presented himself
So she plastered his noso and said the
wreck didn't matter; it could be easily
replaced.
'CBut where's the rest Of it, and what's
become Of the bird?" he asked.
'"Ihe bird! what do you mean?" his
wife exclaimed.
"Why, isn't that part of O bird cago?"
he inquired.
ga bird cage! Ha! ha!-why, yes, if [
am your little birdie, as [ used to be
that's my bustlc," she said.
This explanation gave color to the
"wlrc goods" theory, but still they wore
not sufficiently informed and more light
on the subject had to be obtained.
After debating various propositions as to
where they should go for that light, they
finally concluded to go to the shippers
themaelves. Here they met MIR. Strauss,
tho bookkeeper, who explained to them
that the hustle Of commerce was com.
{ posed of wire and hoops and crinoline
, In former years they had been built Of
/ cotton and excelsior and bair and WOO
, and feathers and other things, but never
| he thought, Of newspapers. Now they
were nearly all of wire, and as there wa'
no classification Of bustles and the
article had superseded hoopskirts, they
felt that they were only doing right il
billing them rs wire goods. Atany rate
these were wiro goods and they wouI(
. maintain their right to their classifc&
e tion as such. Apples were always frnit
but not all fruit were apples, and al
though not all wire goods were bustlcs
and bustles in this day and generation
were wire goods.
> This Wow prevailed. The elderly mar
ried and tho wise looking father OF SC
= many daughters looked as if they hnt
forgotten to remember something, anC